Meet the Team
HEATHER OGBURN STOKES
Founder & CEO
HUGH MICHAEL OGBURN, MD
Executive Medical Director
JAYME QUICK
Director of Admissions
Alden “Peanut” Kirk
Facility Manager, Crisis Recovery Coach, Case Manager
JUDE FLISRAM, LCDC
Clinical Director
DEBBIE DITTRICH, RN
Director of Nursing
MICHELLE WIMBERLEY, CPT, RYT
Wellness Director
VALLARIE WOLF
Executive Administrator Assistant, Crisis Recovery Support
THRESA NORMAN
Recovery Support Supervisor, Discharge Coordinator, Recovery Coach Case Manager
Start today. Find serenity in the Chaos.
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HEATHER OGBURN STOKES
Founder & CEO
Heather first stepped foot on the beautiful property that Serenity Light Recovery now calls home on October 3, 2014 when the idea for a recovery center blossomed into reality. As the CEO, her main calling is to stay true to the vision of the organization, which is saving lives and striving to redefine statistics by raising the standard of care with evolving treatment methods. Heather studied psychology at LSU and both the main and Clear Lake campuses of the University of Houston, and she is a certified IASIS provider and CPI instructor. While her career path includes sales and regional training, she’s been helping people in recovery since 2011.
Heather is married to Justin, the love of her life and a Marine combat veteran, and they have three children. Recovery work is embedded in her soul — she has been in long-term recovery since May of 2011 and has personally seen the depths of darkness as well as the shining light of recovery. She feels deeply that as she was given another chance at life, she can use her experience to help others recover from the hopelessness that addiction can bring. In her free time, Heather is passionate about playing with her kids, taking family trips to Cape Cod, going for walks, attending church, and yoga. She also serves on the board of directors for the Angleton Chamber of Commerce and volunteers with the Grateful Americans Charity, a nonprofit that works to end veteran homelessness.
Heather’s motto to live by is “I am not what I’ve done; I am what I’ve overcome.”
H. Michael Ogburn, MD
Medical Director
Dr. Ogburn has been with SLR since 2014, when he initially started as part of our development team. In 2017, in keeping with his educational background and passion, he became our medical director, and he oversees both the medical detox processes as well as general medical care of our clients. Dr. Ogburn received his MD from the University of Louisville in 1973, and went on to complete his internship and residency at several Baylor College of Medicine-affiliated hospitals in Houston such as Ben Taub, Methodist, and the DeBakey VA Medical Center, culminating in a nephrology (the study of the kidneys) fellowship. After his medical studies, he opened a private practice in 1978, which continues on today, and he is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology as well as board eligible in addiction medicine. He has previously held the titles of medical director of two dialysis centers.
Dr. Ogburn has three children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, and loves spending time with all of them whenever he can. In his alone time, he prefers to read, watch TV, or go to the movies. His passion for helping those in the recovery process stems from his firsthand experience with the chaos and heartache of being a father to two addicts, and the eventual miracle of recovery that followed.
Jayme Quick
Director of Admissions
Jayme has been a member of the Serenity Light Recovery team since 2016 as our director of admissions, where she is the vital first point of contact for clients wanting to start their recovery journey. She assists new clients with the admissions process including insurance navigation, screening, and determining the appropriate level of care. Prior to joining SLR, Jayme received a degree in social science from the University of Houston and worked as a crisis counselor for disadvantaged and under-resourced teens.
With her two amazing, creative children, Jayme spends her spare time on the soccer field cheering on her son or shuttling her daughter to her piano and bass guitar lessons and performances. She is an avid runner and loves to travel anywhere tropical with her kids. Her passion for recovery work comes from helping clients through one of the toughest life decisions they will ever make, as well as assisting family members in getting their loved ones needed treatment, making her job challenging but even more rewarding.
Alden “Peanut” Kirk
Facility Manager, Crisis Recovery Coach, Case Manager
Alden Kirk aka Peanut has been with Serenity Light Recovery since 2017. He has worked his way around the campus from Shine Team to Recovery Advocate to Recovery Coach to Facilities Manager. He specializes in helping clients develop and
implement a recovery plan, identify, and overcome challenges, and connect with resources in the recovery community. He is a part of the Crisis Management Team and works with Brazoria County Specialty Courts. His passion is to help others by providing emotional support and encouragement, and to help people build a sober lifestyle. He believes in meeting clients right where they are at. He is responsible for ensuring that the facility is safe and clean, that the staff is qualified and compassionate, and that the services offered are effective. He is a proud father of 2 beautiful daughters and a loving husband to his wife. He enjoys the outdoors and helping others.
Debbie Dittrich, R.N.
Director of Nursing
Debbie has been with Serenity Light Recovery since 2017, which is also when she stepped into her critical role in the recovery industry for the first time. Her education and experience includes being a registered nurse, IASIS MCN practitioner, and acudetox specialist, and her background as a nurse ranges from labor and delivery to hospice care. As our on-site director of nursing, Debbie manages all of the medically related details of each client to ensure that the entire SLR team can continue to provide the highest quality and level of care possible, and she has found that integrating elements of holistic medicine into traditional treatments for intervention allows clients to experience recovery in a different but still effective way.
Family is Debbie’s heart and soul, and when she’s not at work, she is most likely involved with something related to animals or gardening. She has a small, sustainable farm that brings her great, chaotic joy. Her passion for clients in recovery is twofold: She strives to provide the best and most compassionate care possible as a nurse, regardless of obstacles, and she helps her patients become the best versions of themselves through the love for her profession.
Jude Flisram, LCDC
Jude Flisram, LCDC
Jude studied chemical dependency in Seattle, Washington and obtained her Bachelor’s degree at Springfield College. She has over 25 years of experience helping others to recover from substance use disorders. She has helped develop several Outpatient and Residential programs, and believes in a holistic approach to recovery. She is passionate about the importance of addressing substance abuse to help individuals and their families maintain positive relationships, good mental health, and have joyful and meaningful lives. Jude also insists that substance abuse treatment should be both engaging and fun. She joined Serenity Light Recovery in 2016 and has held positions as a detox, residential and outpatient counselor. As a result of her success working with clients and family members and her natural leadership capabilities she has earned her position as our clinical director.
In her free time, Jude enjoys and practices yoga, breathwork, and has interests in aromatherapy, functional psychiatry, and nutrition. She is regularly being exercised by her two dogs that consider themselves professional squirrel chasers.
Vallarie Wolf
Executive Administrator Assistant, Crisis Recovery Support
Vallarie has 7 years of experience working in the Substance Abuse treatment industry. She began as Direct Care in a previous facility and came to Serenity Light when the doors first opened, as Recovery Coach. She spent 3 1/2 years as Recovery Advocate Supervisor, planning and improving processes, leading with compassion, understanding and listening.
Vallarie enjoys working right along side her team so you will see her around campus doing most anything – property searches for client intake, client transportation, training new employees, greeting clients, and various other tasks. Vallarie uses her background, as a person in recovery, to relate to and encourage those around her. She believes in the importance of setting an example, peer to peer, for clients and team members.
Additionally Vallarie is one of our Crisis Prevention instructors, and believes this education can help us serve our clients in the best way possible.
Vallarie’s personal hobbies include caring for her many rescue cats, hanging out with recovery friends, going on cruises with husband and family and spending lots of time with her children and grandchildren.
Michelle Wimberley (“Meechi”)
Wellness Director
Meechi joined the Serenity Light Recovery team in 2015 and previously held positions as both our activities coordinator and activities director before becoming our holistic wellness director. Her mission is to hold a safe, compassionate, and motivating space for clients to become more self-aware and curious about their internal world and tendencies in day-to-day life, finding their own paths for resilience and recovery. She utilizes tools such as art, body work, music, nature, aromatherapy, ayurveda, ice baths, drumming, and reiki as a means of guiding clients to find their most fitting individual recovery path.
Meechi’s extensive list of training and certifications include yoga therapy studies, and a wide variety of yogic traditions such as; hatha, vinyasa, kundalini, ashtanga, yin, bikram and restorative yoga. Others studies include NASM personal training; group fitness training; trauma informed yoga; trauma informed breath work; Ayurvedic science, aromatherapy; wellness coaching; sports nutrition; STOTT Pilates matwork and reformer; yoga for chronic pain; yoga for neurological disorders; yoga for cancer; yoga for recovery; and yoga for grief, among others. Prior to SLR, she worked at both a pharmaceutical company and as an oil and gas insurance broker.
Meechi is married to her supportive husband with one highly intuitive and creative daughter. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her family, having dance parties and karaoke nights, and eating great food. She also thrives on connecting with other creative souls while attending art classes, breath and yoga classes, concerts, and simply being in nature. Meechi has been sober since 2015 and finds that her passion and compassion comes from her own personal healing journey, on which she struggled to feel like she wasn’t enough until she connected to her authentic self and learned how to slow down and be still. Through her self-discovery, she realized her ability to see others’ resilience and wholeness, and strives to help clients hone in on their potential.
Thresa Norman
Recovery Support Supervisor, Discharge Coordinator, Recovery Coach Case Manager
Thresa began her journey with Serenity Light Recovery as a mock client prior to their opening. She joined the team in March 2017 as a recovery advocate and has been a certified recovery coach since 2019.
She has worked her way into the discharge planning role and coordinates with referral sources, clients and their families to create a plan that works best for them after treatment. She is passionate about helping others find solutions to meet their needs in their journey of recovery.
She has been in recovery and working with others since July 5, 2016. She enjoys spending her free time at the ballpark watching her son play baseball.
Eric Ayles
Director of Business Development
Eric Ayles is the Director of Business Development at Serenity Light Recovery. He brings over 15 years experience in addiction treatment and mental health services.
Eric is the Board President and Founder of the Spiritual Care Network. The SCN brings professionals together across the US to bridge the gap between mental health and faith and he grew the organization from a single networking group to a national nonprofit. He has also coordinated multiple conferences across Texas to promote education and awareness on top mental health topics in our communities.
Eric has also served as a board member for the Texas Association of Addiction Professionals in both Houston and Dallas. He is the chair of the Drug Awareness Program committee for the Elks Lodge and certified as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Previously he was a board member for Mental Health of America of Greater Dallas from 2014-2016.
